Sasha

"Please tell me he's a meat eater?" her mother, Emma, asked.

"Yes, Norman likes meat."

Sasha sat outside of the office building, eating a sandwich. Norman was on a very important conference call. She made sure he had some lunch and decided to eat hers outside on one of the walls, watching the hustle and bustle of the city life go by.

"Good, good. I have no problem with people being vegetarian, or whatever they want to call it. Just not for me. A meal is not a meal without some meat."

"There are a lot of people who will disagree. I like vegetarian food. You should make the lasagna. Amazing."

She heard her mother's scoff. "Can you imagine me feeding Harold a vegetarian lasagna?"

"Nope. Dad wouldn't talk to you for weeks."

"Now that you say that, I may just make it for him."

Sasha started laughing. Her mother and father loved each other very much. "How much does he know of... my arrangement?"

"He knows everything, sweetie. You know I don't keep things like that from your father."

Sasha groaned. "That's not good."

"I don't lie to my husband. I love your father very much. How does this whole thing work for you?"

"We're trying for a baby. We're going to make it work together."

"Do you like him?"

"Most of the time. He's not a bad guy. Yeah, he has his moments of being an asshole, but don't all guys?"

"Your father's annoyed that we didn't get invited to your wedding."

"No one did. It was done in a courtroom. Documents sealed, nothing fancy." There was no elaborate dress. They had both been dressed for work. It had been an office day. In the morning she went in as Sasha Miller, PA. When she returned she was Sasha Rockwell, PA. Strange even to her.

"We wanted fancy for you."

"I'm not the kind of person to appreciate it."

"Okay, well, how about him making you happy? Does he make you happy?"

"Yes, he does." She wasn't going to go into detail of the ways that Norman made her happy. Spending so much time with him over the past week, she'd started to see the little things. It wasn't just about the boys he helped in foster care. He loved them, and his cause, making sure he did everything for them. Late one night, he'd been making love to her when his cell phone rang. It hadn't been his work phone. He owned a special cell for emergencies only. After he finished making love to her, they had gone in search of a boy who hadn't come home.

They'd found the kid alone at a park, crying, Her heart had broken for the little boy who had found out that his mother had moved on, and wasn't coming back for him.

"He's a good man, most of the time." She told her mother about the incident with the boys, and her mother fell in love with him.

"How can this man be considered a bastard?" Emma asked.

"He's not very nice to previous girlfriends, and he tends to cause a few problems."

"Pfft, he sounds like my kind of man. So, do you think you could be pregnant?"

"There's a chance. A slim chance I might be."

"I can't wait. We're so excited about being grandparents."

Sasha smiled. She loved making her parents happy and proud.

"We'll see you this weekend. We have the charity event on Saturday. It's a major thing here for foster kids. Then we'll be driving to your place."

"How about Harold and I come and see him? I'd love to see him in something interesting."

"I'll ask him, and I'll call you back." She wasn't sure if Norman would want to meet her parents while also completing tasks to raise money.

"Call me back. I'll be doing my pot roast, or if it's warm enough, I'll get your father to grill."

"Don't let him burn anything, Mom. You know how he can get with that thing."

"Totally agree."

She said goodbye to her mother, and hung up. Making her way up to her floor, she saw Norman was still in his office, and made her way toward the coffee room to refresh hers. If he needed anything he'd call her. Martha was standing at the machine, and the receptionist smiled at her. "Thank you so much. I can come and get my own coffee now without being stopped."

"I'm glad."

She grabbed a cup, and started to fill it with cream and sugar. Sensing Martha lingering, she turned to look at the other woman. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. Not really. I just, I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure."

"Are you dating the boss?"

Those words made Sasha freeze. "I'm sorry?"

"I know. It's so embarrassing asking you that. There's been a few rumors going around about the two of you leaving together, and some not very nice things have been said. They believe you're the reason he's broken it off with Diana."

"That's a lie. I'm not responsible for him."

"So nothing is happening?"

Sasha didn't like lying at all. This was harder than she thought it would be. "Don't believe everything you hear." Quickly making her escape, she got to her desk, and just got stuck to work.

She didn't know how much time had passed before Norman came out of his office, and rested against her desk.

"Success, we have the Brian account."

"He caved?"

"It would seem the old man doesn't like the thought of working for companies that simply break them down, and change them. He likes companies that thrive, and are willing to invest to produce the best for their clients."

"Congratulations. " The urge to hug him was strong. She stopped herself, and simply smiled at him.

"No hug?"

"Not here. Rumors have started to stir up again." She looked around to see if anyone was staring, Fortunately, no one was. She let out a sigh.

"You're my wife."

"I know. It's just .. you didn't have to deal with this last time. I did. I found it really hard, and right now I don't want to start it up again."

"You really need to learn to trust me. I wouldn't let anyone talk shit about you."

She sighed. "Can we not talk about this here?"

"Fine!"

She watched as he stormed back into his office. Feeling like a total bitch, which she was, she got to her feet and rushed inside.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Close the fucking door."

Sasha quickly closed the door, wishing she hadn't upset him. She wasn't afraid of him, far from it.

"Look, I know we're a little bit unconventional here. I get that. I know it's a struggle. We're married, and I don't want to spend the rest of our lives hiding this. I won't."

"I know," she said. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Just tell me how to get you to fucking accept this Sasha. Do you want to be my wife?" he asked.

Her heart started to race. "It's not like I can just stop being it."

"That's not what I asked. We can divorce. It's simple. I don't want to divorce. I'll do it for you."

"I don't want a divorce."

"Then I want you to head down to human resources with me right now, and let them know that your name has changed."

Biting her lip, she nodded. "Okay."

He moved toward her, taking hold of her hand, and locking their fingers together. "It's going to be okay."

"Wait, erm, my parents. They wanted to know if they can stop by on Saturday. Get to know you at the charity event where you help raise money?"

"They do?"

"You like meat, they considered that a bonus."

Norman threw his head back and laughed. I cannot wait to meet them."

"They feel the same way about you."

"Sasha, babe, you're going to have to learn to trust me. I know that's hard to do, but put a little faith in me. I've not steered you wrong, have I?"

"I guess not."

"Come on then, let's go and do this."

Squeezing his hand, she smiled. She would rather face the future with Norman, than alone.

Even her feelings for him were changing. She didn't know what she felt, only that it was getting stronger every passing day.